The frigid temperatures at high altitudes, the ocean depths where grapes or bottles are left to rest, the tunnels of an ancient silver mine, and of course, the wood of large barrels or barriques, steel, amphorae, concrete vats, or cocciopesto—there are endless ways to refine a wine. In some cases, these methods come from ancient traditions, while in others, they are true experiments.
However, a special container or magical setting is not always necessary. According to Peppe Vessicchio, musician, arranger, conductor, and composer, music can influence the aging process and improve the wine. His project, conceived in collaboration with Riccardo Iacobone, CEO of two wineries based in Abruzzo, Rosarubra and Torri Cantine, is called Musiké and includes four labels: Sesto Armonico Bianco and Sesto Armonico Rosso, based on Trebbiano d’Abruzzo and Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, as well as Riccardo I, a blend of Primitivo and Malvasia Nera IGT, and Alfalyr, a blend of Chardonnay and Malvasia IGT. The wines of Vessicchio, an institution in Italian music, undergo a harmonious-natural aging process with pieces selected and composed by the maestro, who has been committed for years to experiments demonstrating how music positively affects plant growth. The method used is called FREman, drawing on specific notes that evolve the bonds and make them balanced and enjoyable. The technique of “harmonizing” the wine, promoted and implemented by the maestro, has already contributed to the success of some monovarietals like Barbera, Asprinio, Negroamaro, and Grecanico. It is an agro-musical experiment that shows the benefits brought to natural products through the so-called “harmonious-natural” musical frequencies. The notes induce the wine to undergo what is called restructuring catalysis: the wine seeks within itself the conditions for balanced bonds. While the composition of the wine does not change, its taste would show such improvements as to make even its longevity extraordinary. The project also has a cultural and social aspect, as it helps support a youth orchestra and talented musicians who cannot afford to study.
But musical experiments in the Italian and European wine scene have been proliferating for years, making it nearly impossible to list them all. Among some examples is Christoph Ruck, responsible for the wine cellar at the restaurant Römmerts Weinwelt in Volkach, Bavaria, who demonstrated the differences in 900 bottles of Müller-Thurgau, left to rest in concrete containers, half of which were exposed to the sounds of jazz music and the other half to pop music.
Moreover, in 2016, the company Rocche dei Manzoni presented the first sparkling wine made using the classic method and aged with music: the Valentino Brut Cuvée Speciale Door 185th. This is a blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier from four vintages, aged for 8 years on the lees, with the musical notes of Ezio Bosso, an Italian composer, pianist, double bassist, and conductor who tragically passed away in 2020, playing every night for 3 hours.
Moving to another continent, in Chile, winemaker Juan Ledesma developed the Terroir Sonoro project, funded by the country’s Agricultural Innovation Fund, where music is played inside the barrels during the 6 months of aging, resonating 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with small speakers placed inside the barriques, each tuned to a different tone based on the vibrational frequency of the barrel itself.
Returning to Italy, there are those who have brought music directly to the vineyard, where the grapes themselves absorb its influences. This is the case of Carlo Cignozzi, a lawyer and music enthusiast, who in 2000 created Paradiso di Frassina, an ancient farm dating back to the Middle Ages in the land of Brunello di Montalcino. He experimented with the effects of music on the vines, accompanying the growth of the grapes with the music of Mozart. The project is supported by scientific research conducted by the universities of Florence, Pisa, and Arezzo, and it has earned the definition of the rows as Mozart’s Vineyards.
